Many people know that there are two types of permanent residence permits
in the Netherlands: the regular Dutch permanent
residence permit(“verblijfsvergunning voor onbepaalde tijd regulier”)
and the Dutch residence permit as long-term
resident EC, or
EU permanent residence permit (“verblijfsvergunning EU langdurig
ingezetene”). Both permits require applicants to live in the Netherlands for
five consecutive years, to pass the integration exam, and to have sufficient
financial resources. But not many know the specific differences between the two.
In this article, we tell you everything you should know about the two types of
non-temporary independent residence permits in the Netherlands.

Years are calculated differently

What the EU permanent residence permit and the Dutch
permanent residence permit have in common, is that the duration of non-temporary
residence is counted in full when you apply. Non-temporary residence cards include
residence permits for regular employment, high-skilled immigrants, and
self-employment etc.

What
differs is how the duration of temporary residence is calculated. When you apply
for an EU permanent residence permit, some types of residence in the
Netherlands are only counted
for 50%, and some aren’t even counted at all. If you stayed in the Netherlands on
a student residence, for example, only half of your years will be counted. If
you then change the purpose of your stay to a search year permit, the search year
isn’t counted at all. When you apply for a Dutch permanent residence permit, on the other hand, all types of temporary
residence are counted in full.

Main residence requirements are different

After
obtaining a Dutch permanent residence permit, your main residence has to
be in the Netherlands. This means that you can stay outside the Netherlands for
a maximum of 6 months consecutively, or a maximum of 4 months consecutively each
year for 3 years in a row. The main residence requirements for an EU permanent residence permitare more lenient: you
can live in other EU countries for up to six years without losing your permit,
and if you stay outside the EU, you need to enter the EU once a year.

Different preferential treatments in other EU countries

According
to EU Directive 2003/109, EU countries will have relatively favorable
immigration policies for EU permanent residence permit holders. The
Netherlands allows them to obtain an “economically inactive” residence permit
in the Netherlands on the premise of having assets and sufficient economic
resources. Another benefit is that, by EU directives, after one year of
residence in another EU country, said country must allow EU permanent
residence permit holders to work freely. When, for example, you have an EU
permanent residence permit issued by the Dutch government and want to work in
Germany, the German government may ask you to apply for a German work permit during
your first year there. However, after one year of legal residence, by EU law,
Germany must allow you to work completely freely without a work permit.

Different procedures for moving to other EU countries

When you
have a Dutch permanent residence permit and want to live in Germany, you
need to go to the German Consulate General in Amsterdam to apply for a German Schengen
visa, type D. After you have a D visa, you will need to go to the German local
SAFE (Ausländerbehörde) to apply for a residence permit. If you have an EU permanent
residence permit, you don’t need to go to the German embassy or consulate,
you can go directly to the German local SAFE to apply for a residence permit.

In general,
the EU permanent residence permitis more
lenient with regard to main residence, and it can also give cardholders more
convenience in other EU countries. So, if you are currently holding a Dutch permanent
residence permit, but want to enjoy the benefits of other EU countries, we
advise you to contact a professional lawyer as soon as possible and submit your
application for an EU permanent residence permit.

Both types of permanent residence permits in the Netherlands use the same application form

It’s
important to know that both types of permanent residence use the same
application form and that the Dutch Immigration Services (IND) will first review
whether the applicant meets the conditions for an EU permanent residence
permit. If these requirements are met, the IND will directly issue an EU
permanent residence permit. If not, the IND will continue to review whether
the application meets the Dutch permanent residence permit. This also
results in longer approval times.

According to Dutch Immigration Law, the IND has a six-month approval period for
permanent residence applications. Because of this, Mynta Law has launched a permanent
“queuing”
service, which can save you several months of waiting.

Feel free to contact us for more details. Our permanent residence team can’t wait!

The legal specialists of Mynta Law help companies and individuals with small and large immigration issues. Whether you want to learn more about business immigration of skilled migrants and entrepreneurs, are a foreign student interested in your extended stay opportunities in the Netherlands, or have a question about migration options for your family, we will answer all your questions quickly and professionally.

Related news

In accordance with Dutch Immigration law, there is a special visa, namely ‘non-temporary humanitarian’ visa. This is the official name of this special visa. For the reason of convenience, hereinafter, we will call it the independent child visa. With this visa, your children will become independent in terms of residence rights. They will be allowed to stay in the Netherlands and pursue their own (academic) career.

Requirements of the independent child visa

To apply for this visa, you and your children must meet certain requirements. The first prerequisite is that your current residence permit must be of “non-temporary” nature. This technical term means that a parent cannot apply for this residence permit for his/her children, if the parent himself/herself is on a student visa, an intra-company transfer visa or an au pair visa etc. The second condition is that your children came to the Netherlands before the age of eighteen. Third, when applying for the independent child visa, your children should have held a family member visa for more than a year, that is, at least one year and one day. During that year, your children’s residence permit does not have to be continuous. If your children have turned eighteen during their stay in the Netherlands, they are still eligible for the independent child visa.

Benefits of the independent child visa

The greatest advantage of the independent child visa is that your children’s right to live in the Netherlands is no longer dependent on yours. Normally speaking, if your employment ends or if your residence permit expires, a family member visa will be revoked or will not be extended by the IND. However, should your children have obtained an independent child visa, their residence rights remain intact and protected, regardless of your own visa status. The independent child visa is valid for five years. This visa gives the holder unrestricted access to Dutch labour market, which means your children are allowed to work without a work permit.

The independent child visa secures your children’s
future in the Netherlands and provides them with a wonderful pathway to
permanent residence and Dutch/EU citizenship.

According to the latest figures published by the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, in 2018, the IND issued approximately 110 independent visas. Considering the large number of foreign expats living in the Netherlands, many parents are not aware of this beautiful opportunity for their children.

If you are interested in applying for this visa,
please feel free to contact Mynta Law B.V. at +31 (0) 70 205 1160 or
info@mynta.nl.

The Highly Skilled Migrant salaries 2019 have been published. These salaries are also applied within the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) policy. The European Blue Card salary level for 2019 has also been published.

Working with the Highly Skilled Migrant Salaries 2019

Companies using the Highly Skilled Migrant policy must keep in mind the following basic rules:

1. The salaries are absolute benchmarks. Part-time work for a Highly Skilled Migrant is not permissible if this brings the total salary below the norm.

2. A Highly Skilled Migrant needs to receive his or her net salary by bank and strictly on a monthly basis. At all times, the gross salary must meet the required minimum.

3. The salaries of highly skilled migrants already employed need not be raised at the start of 2019. To avoid too much complexity and simplify immigration compliance, employers could voluntarily decide to bring all highly skilled migrant salaries up to the requisite norms of 2019.

4. We stronly advise against any return payments from the employee back to the employer if these return payments could raise any doubts at all about the initial salary payments. In an earlier case Mynta Law has handled, we had to take the IND to court over this issue.

5. Highly Skilled Migrant salaries, even if compliant with the applicable norms, must still be objectively competitive. Even though this issue is not routinely checked by the IND, employers are advised to take note of this.

Questions about the Highly Skilled Migrant salaries 2019?

For any questions about the application of the highly skilled migrant policy, the ICT policy or other employment-based immigration rules, you may contact Arend van Rosmalen.

For most families, the tegemoetkoming scholieren means more than simply receiving a subsidy of €1400-2800 per year. When a student starts higher education, they are entitled to Dutch student finance if they have received the tegemoetkoming scholieren in secondary school, in accordance with the Wet tegemoetkoming onderwijsbijdrage en schoolkosten. And when a foreign student receives Dutch student finance, their tuition payment standard is based on the EU tuition fee. This is important because, according to the Wet tegemoetkoming onderwijsbijdrage en schoolkosten, children of knowledge migrants and European Blue Card holders are not eligible for Dutch university grants. Even if the student’s right of abode is an independent residence permit derived from the residence permit of relatives, the Dutch Ministry of Education refuses to grant student finance. The only way to obtain Dutch student finance is thus to first receive the tegemoetkoming scholieren.

If a student then chooses to pursue higher education after graduating secondary school, they will continue to receive student finance. Not receiving a tegemoetkoming scholierentherefore means paying tens of thousands of euros in tuition fees for higher education in the Netherlands.

Our client,
hereinafter referred to as Xiao Zhang, is a secondary school student. He
applied to the Dutch Ministry of Education for the tegemoetkoming scholieren in May 2017. Xiao Zhang had the right to
receive the tegemoetkoming scholieren
in accordance with Dutch law at the time. The Dutch Ministry of Education,
however, knew about the royal decree starting July 1, 2017, in advance and
rejected Xiao Zhang’s application at the end of May 2017. At the beginning of
July of the same year, Xiao Zhang entrusted Mynta Law to propose administrative
reconsideration to the Ministry of Education. In August 2017, the Dutch
Ministry of Education rejected Xiao Zhang’s administrative reconsideration.
Xiao Zhang holds an independent residence permit, but the independent residence
permit is derived from the residence permit of his relatives. His parents are
Chinese knowledge migrants. The Dutch Ministry of Education therefore believed
that, according to the royal decree implemented on July 1, 2017, Xiao Zhang has
no right to receive a tegemoetkoming scholieren. Xiao Zhang refused to accept
the decision and sued the Dutch Ministry of Education. In June 2018, the Dutch
court heard the case and in August 2018, the judge ruled in favor of Xiao
Zhang.

Implications of the final verdicton receiving tegemoetkoming scholieren

In
accordance with this verdict, all secondary school students between the age of 18
and 30 who have an independent residence permit can apply for a tegemoetkoming scholieren at the Dutch
Ministry of Education. The verdict has not yet been published in any relevant
law-specific journals. In our experience, an application must clearly state the
date of the specific verdict, the case number and the relevant verdict paragraph
to be accepted. If your child is 18 years old and still attending secondary
school, we advise you to contact us and apply for a tegemoetkoming scholieren. The Dutch Ministry of Education is aware
of the flaws in the royal decree of July 1, 2017 and it is therefore expected
that they will issue a new royal decree soon. Promulgation and revision of the royal
decree does not require the approval of both houses of parliament and can be
made with the cabinet’s consent and the King’s signature. In general, revising
a royal decree takes only 6 to 12 months. Therefore, please be sure to seize
this golden opportunity and apply for a tegemoetkoming
scholieren for your child before the new royal decree is given.

Has your
child not yet obtained an independent residence permit? Have you recently
received a rejection letter from the Ministry of Education? Or would you like
to apply for a tegemoetkoming scholieren?
Please contact Mynta Law.

The legal specialists of Mynta Law help
companies and individuals with small and large immigration issues. Whether you
want to learn more about business immigration of skilled migrants and
entrepreneurs, are a foreign student interested in your extended stay
opportunities in the Netherlands, or have a question about migration options
for your family, we will answer all your questions quickly and professionally.

It is allowed that a knowledge migrant salary is in part paid back to the employer’s bank account in order to repay a loan with interest. The immigration chamber of the court of Rotterdam has recently decided this issue in favor of one of Mynta Law’s clients. It may seem obvious that, like any salary, also a knowledge migrant salary may be spent as the employee deems fit, but it is no secret the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) and the Inspectorate for Social Affairs and Employment (Inspectorate SZW) regard any money flow from the knowledge migrant back to the employer’s bank account with real suspicion.

Knowledge migrant salary spent on repayment of mortgage with employer

The facts. A Chinese knowledge migrant works at the local branch of a Chinese business. She and her family decide to buy a house in the Netherlands. After finalizing the purchase, the process of obtaining a mortgage from a large Dutch bank is slowed down by the bank’s general bureaucracy. In order to avoid a hefty penalty, she calls up her superiors at the head office in China, asking if the company perhaps could grant her a mortgage. An unusual request for most Dutch employees, but not entirely unheard of. The tax office does have specific rules for this situation. The head office agrees, but sets the interest rate at a level that is normal in China, but much higher than the low interest rate in the Netherlands. Still, the knowledge migrant is happy. She does not have to let go of the house, does not incur a penalty for late payment, and she avoids the bureaucracy of a Dutch bank using rules and systems that she is unfamiliar with.

During a routine inspection a few years later, the Inspectorate SZW and the IND find out that the employee has for some time paid back large parts of her knowledge migrant salary to her own employer’s bank account. Alarm bells go off. The authorities suspect this combination of a high net salary and an equally high interest rate, and are convinced this arrangement must somehow be abusive. The government even claims, but cannot substantiate, that the arrangement must have been at the employer’s initiative, and link the arrangement to a decline in sales. Everything aimed at pinning an evasion case on the knowledge migrant and her family.

But the government cannot deny the existence of the loan. There is plenty correspondence between the employee and the bank that she initially approached for a mortgage. It is established that, indeed, it was the company paying directly to the notary’s office for the purchase of the employee’s house. Also, the knowledge migrant and her employer have put down their arrangement in writing, and they both keep a precise record of the outstanding debts. Finally, the employer does not withhold any repayment from the knowledge migrant salary, instead paying out the full net salary and leaving it to the knowledge migrant herself to pay back what she owes.

Inspectorate SZW, responsible for scrutinizing employers, at first threatens to slap the employer with a severe penalty for illegally employing a foreign national. But the company presents all the available documents and explains how the arrangement has come about. This argumentation is accepted. Inspectorate SZW acknowledges that, in these circumstances, no breach of the knowledge migrant salary norm can be established, and the company does not receive a penalty.

But the IND, responsible for dealing with the employee and her family, is not so easily put off. They proceed to withdraw the family’s residence permits, ordering them to leave the Netherlands at their own initiative. The facts, of course, are explained to the IND as well, but the government officials remain convinced of the evasive nature of the design of the mortgage.

The immigration chamber of the court of Rotterdam does not agree with the IND. In a recent interim judgment, it holds that a knowledge migrant salary first and foremost belongs to the knowledge migrant herself, and that she may in principle spend it in any way the law allows. Spending her net income on repayment of a loan with interest, provided by her own employer, may not be that usual in the Netherlands, but it is not entirely uncommon either, and certainly not illegal. Moreover, the circumstances surrounding the arrangement do show clearly there is no premeditated evasion of the knowledge migrant salary norm.

The court has now ordered the IND to rethink their decision, and has postponed further proceedings awaiting the IND’s reply.

Wider implications regarding knowledge migrant salary

The knowledge migrant policy is by far the most widely used employment based immigration policy in the Netherlands. The rules are simple: a knowledge migrant must be an employee of a so-called recognised sponsor, his or her salary must meet the applicable norms, and the highly skilled migrant salary must be competitive objectively (something that is not even widely assessed by the IND). Everything is clearly aimed at a subjective admission test in which the employer’s willingness to pay plays a key role. Recognised sponsors do not need to show each candidate’s diplomas and verified employment history (although the IND is known to make exceptions), and the IND regards the recognised sponsor as its “client”. The rules should be predictable and user-friendly for the IND’s clients’ sake. Undeniably, with more than one thousand applications per month, the policy really is a big success.

But there is another side to all this. At its conception in 2004, the key government advisors already noticed that any policy as subjective as the proposed knowledge migrant policy is inherently vulnerable to abuse. The knowledge migrant who is found out paying back sums of money to her own employer clearly reveals to the authorities the achilles heel of the policy they are called to execute. The officers’ findings certainly must have raised questions with them about the employer’s real willingness to pay, central to the admission of the knowledge migrant and her family. We do understand the IND’s iniital unease when they are confronted with an arrangement like this. Certainly, the government cannot be expected to allow all situations of repayment of salaries, since that would undermine the entire policy!

But the interim ruling clearly does not compel the IND to accept all occasions where a knowledge migrant salary is paid back to the employer. The court merely finds that, given the evidence, especially the fact that the arrangement in this case was clearly initiated from the employee’s side, was well-documented and that there was no deduction from the knowledge migrant salary, there is no valid claim for abuse of the knowledge migrant salary norm.

For more information about the knowledge migrant policy please send an email to Arend van Rosmalen

On July 1, 2017, the Dutch government revised the Wet tegemoetkoming onderwijsbijdrage en schoolkosten by royal decree. The royal decree revoked the right to receive the tegemoetkoming scholieren, a secondary school grant, for children of knowledge migrants and EU Blue Card holders. Last Summer, Mynta Law represented a client in court regarding the right to receive the tegemoetkoming scholieren, and won the case. In this article, we explain why the judge’s verdict may also save your child tens of thousands of euros in tuition fees.

What is the tegemoetkoming scholieren?

The tegemoetkoming scholieren is a special benefit granted by the Dutch Ministry of Education under the Wet tegemoetkoming onderwijsbijdrage en schoolkosten (“Law on the reimbursement of educational contribution and school expenses”) to people over the age of 18 who are still in secondary school. To qualify for this benefit, students have to be between 18 and 30 years old and still in one of the following types of secondary schools: vwo, havo, vmbo, mavo, lwoo, praktijkonderwijs, vso or vavo

What are the benefits of receiving the tegemoetkoming scholieren?

The specific amount of the tegemoetkoming scholieren is related to whether the student is still living with their parents. If the student still lives with a parent, the monthly grant is €113. If the student does not live with their parents, the monthly grant is €265. Furthermore, if the parents are on a low income, the child can receive an additional grant of up to €117 per month.

But the benefits of the tegemoetkoming scholieren are not limited to this annual subsidy of 1400 – 2,800 euros. Its significance also stems from another reason: according to the Wet tegemoetkoming onderwijsbijdrage en schoolkosten, if a student has received the tegemoetkoming scholieren in secondary school, the student is entitled to Dutch student finance (commonly known as:studiefinanciering or stufi) when they start higher education. And when a foreign student receives Dutch student finance, they pay the EU tuition fee.

This is significant because, according to the Wet tegemoetkoming onderwijsbijdrage en schoolkosten, (children of) knowledge migrants and European Blue Card holders are not eligible for Dutch university grants. Even if the student’s right of abode is an independent residence permit derived from the residence permit of relatives, the Dutch Ministry of Education refuses to grant student finance. The only way to obtain Dutch student finance is thus to first receive the tegemoetkoming scholieren. When a student chooses to pursue higher education after completing secondary school, they will continue to receive student finance because they have previously received a secondary school grant. Not receiving a tegemoetkoming scholieren, therefore, means that a student has to pay tens of thousands of euros in tuition fees if they want to pursue higher education in the Netherlands.

How much money can you save in tuition fees by first receiving the tegemoetkoming scholieren?

Dutch universities
divide their tuition fees into EU tuition fees and non-EU tuition fees. As an
example, take the bachelor’s program International Business Administration at Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam: their non-EU tuition fee for the 2018-2019 academic
year is € 10,200. The EU tuition fee for the same course is € 2,060. This means that a student from
outside of the EU will pay € 8,140 more than EU students. International
Business Administration is a three-year program. So the extra costs will be €
24,420 (€ 8140 x 3 = € 24,420). After
receiving their bachelor’s degree, Dutch students generally choose to proceed
to a master’s program. The tuition fee for the master’s program International Business
Management at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is € 14,600. The EU tuition for
the same program is still € 2060. The
student will thus pay an extra € 12,540
in tuition fees to complete their final year. Added up, the student must pay at
least € 36,960 in tuition fees if they
want to complete a full bachelor’s and master’s program, not including possible
delay.

Dutch Judge’s verdict on receiving tegemoetkoming scholieren

Our client, hereinafter referred to as Xiao Zhang, is a secondary school student. He applied to the Dutch Ministry of Education for the tegemoetkoming scholieren in May 2017.According to Dutch law at the time, Xiao Zhang had the right to receive the tegemoetkoming scholieren. The Dutch Ministry of Education, however, already knew that the King of the Netherlands would issue a new royal decree starting July 1, 2017 and therefore rejected Xiao Zhang’s application at the end of May 2017. At the beginning of July of the same year, Xiao Zhang entrusted Mynta Law to propose administrative reconsideration to the Ministry of Education. In August 2017, the Dutch Ministry of Education rejected Xiao Zhang’s administrative reconsideration. Xiao Zhang holds an independent residence permit, but the independent residence permit is derived from the residence permit of his relatives. His parents are Chinese knowledge migrants. Therefore, the Dutch Ministry of Education believes that, according to the royal decree implemented on July 1, 2017, Xiao Zhang has no right to receive a tegemoetkoming scholieren. Xiao Zhang refused to accept the decision and sued the Dutch Ministry of Education. In June 2018, the Dutch court heard the case and in August 2018, the judge ruled in favor of Xiao Zhang.

The judge explained: the royal decree issued by the King of the Netherlands on July 1, 2017 is not clear enough and the interpretation of the royal decree’s supporting legislation (Nota van toelichting) is not clearly stated. The changes made on July 1st only included technical and editorial revisions, which the agent of the Dutch Ministry of Education also confirmed in court. The judge therefore believes that the understanding of the law after July 1, 2017 should be compared with that of before July 1,, 2017. The judge believes that secondary school students with an independent residence permit should have the right to apply for the tegemoetkoming scholieren.

The implications of the Dutch judge’s verdict on the tegemoetkoming scholieren

According
to the verdict discussed, secondary school students with an independent
residence permit should continue to have the right to apply for a tegemoetkoming scholieren. In response
to the verdict discussed above, the Dutch Ministry of Education has the right
to appeal to the Dutch Supreme Court within 6 weeks. If the Ministry of
Education chooses not to appeal, this verdict will become the final verdict.
And if so, all secondary school students over the age of 18 who hold an independent
residence permit can apply for a for a tegemoetkoming
scholieren at the Dutch Ministry of Education in accordance with this
judgment. This verdict has not yet been published in any relevant law-specific
journals. In our experience, the application date must clearly indicate the date
of the specific verdict, the case number, and the relevant verdict paragraph to
be accepted for processing. If your child is 18 years old and still attending
secondary school, you are advised to contact Mynta Law and send your child’s information to us. At the end of the 6-week
appeal period, we can immediately submit a tegemoetkoming
scholieren application for your child. If your child has not yet obtained
independent residence, we advise you to contact us immediately to help your
child apply for independent residence. For more information, read our latest
news on independent residence permits for Children in the Netherlands.

The legal specialists of Mynta Law help both foreign and Dutch companies and individuals with small and large immigration issues. Whether you want to learn more about business immigration of skilled migrants and entrepreneurs, are a foreign student interested in your extended stay opportunities in the Netherlands, or have a question about migration options for your family, we will answer all your questions quickly and professionally.